Paint roller



y 1959 A. HEINTZELMAN 2,887,707

PAINT ROLLER Filed Oct. 1, 1957 IN VENTOR Leo Heinfzelmon United States Patent PAINT ROLLER Leo A. Heintzelman, Grandville, Mich., assignor of onehalf to Joseph John Jingles, Comstock Park, Mich.

Application October 1, 1957, Serial No. 687,415

3 Claims. (Cl. 15-1325) This invention relates to painting equipment and more particularly to a paint roller.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid coating applicator that can be used for painting overhead surfaces, such as ceilings, without dripping any of such material upon the floor.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a paint applicator of the above type which includes a self contained reservoir for automatically supplying paint to the roller during the use of the device.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a paint roller bearing the above objects in mind which is of simple construction, has a minimum number of parts, is inexpensive to manufacture and etficient in operation.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a paint roller made in accordance with one form of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a transverse cross sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary end elevational view, with parts broken away, of the device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross sectional view taken along line 4--4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of the present invention.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, a liquid coating applicator made in accordance with the present invention is shown to include a housing 12 having spaced parallel end walls 13 and an arcuate bottom wall 15 that defines a well in which a quantity of coating liquid 26 may be retained. An applicator roller 17 having a porous sleeve 19 in encircling supported engagement thereon is rotatably supported upon a longitudinal shaft 18. A spring 21 having one end 22 secured, such as by a weld 24, at each end of the housing rotatably supports each end of the shaft 18. As is shown in Figure 4, each end of the shaft 18 is rotatably carried by a plurality of concentric convolutions of the spring 21 in a normal position with the roller extending partially outwardly through the open top 14 of the housing.

In accordance with one form of the present invention, a handle 28 is provided with a base 29 that is connected to the arcuate bottom wall 15 so that the hand grip 31 lies in a plane common with the longitudinal axis of the roller shaft 18. In accordance with a modified form of construction, an L-shaped handle 33 is connected at the end of one leg 34 to the bottom wall 15 while the other leg 35 having a hand grip 36 at the outer free end thereof is disposed in a laterally ofiset relationship with the longitudinal axis of the roller shaft 18.

2,887,707 Patented May 26, 1959 "Ice In actual use of either of the aforementioned embodiments of the present invention, the well defined by the bottom wall 15 is partially filled with the liquid coating material 26 to a level slightly below the lowermost surface of the roller pad 19. By then exerting an upward movement upon the handle of the device with the roller in engagement with the overhead surface, such as a ceiling, the housing is forced upwardly against the action of the springs 21 so as to partially submerge the lowermost portion of the roller pad 19 within the liquid whereby such pressure may be partially released so that the liquid may be applied to the overhead surface through reciprocating horizontal movement of the unit. When the liquid initially applied to the roller has been depleted, it is only necessary to again urge the housing upwardly in order to apply an additional amount of liquid coating material to the roller. Of course, the well must be filled as the supply of liquid is depleted. However, substantially large areas may be coated in this manner between such refilling of the housing, such that there is no loss of material through dripping upon the floor and a much neater and more uniform job is attained. All that is necessary to replace a roller is to urge the springs 21 longitudinally out of engagement with the ends of the roller shaft 18 to remove the old roller and insert a new roller, following which the shaft is again assembled with the housing.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A liquid coating applicator comprising, in combination, a housing having spaced end walls and an arcuate bottom wall, said bottom wall defining a well for storing liquid coating material, a roller rotatably supported within said housing extending partially outwardly from the top thereof, means yieldably resisting transverse movement of said roller toward said bottom wall, said roller comprising a cylinder having an absorbent exterior sleeve and a longitudinal shaft extending concentrically therethrough, and a handle secured to said housing, said yieldable means comprising a pair of spring members one at each end of said housing, one end of each of said spring members being secured to said hosuing, and the opposite end of each said spring member comprising a plurality of concentric convolutions defining a sleeve, said sleeve rotatably and releasably receiving the adjacent end of said shaft.

2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said handle comprises a hand grip having a longitudinal axis defining a plane with the longitudinal axis of said shaft.

3. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said handle is laterally oifset from the longitudinal axis of said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,461,947 Sporer July 17, 1923 2,187,585 Grigas Jan. 16, 1940 2,548,653 Cromwell Apr. 10, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,106,159 France July 13, 1955 

